MASSAPEQUA PARK, NY – A Long Island family says they caught porch pirates taking a package from their home earlier this month, but they weren’t the ones who ordered the item.
According to police, hackers managed to gain access to Erica Bernhard’s Bloomingdale account password, ordered multiple items and had them shipped to her Massapequa Park home.
A would-be “runner” tracked UPS’s delivery of a high-end, expensive vacuum cleaner and then boldly tried to swipe the package off Bernhard’s porch.
Video shows family chasing porch pirates in Massapequa Park
“This was a scam. Someone ordered it, we didn’t order it, and then out of the corner of my eye there comes the man,” said father Glenn Bernhard.
“My mom was standing, I think, right at the door, so she started yelling,” Erica Bernhard said.
“It was chaos,” Glenn Bernhard said.
Video from a porch camera shows the entire family giving chase, though Glenn Bernard tripped over a lawn ornament.
“I just had a knee and hip replacement, so I couldn’t run,” he said.
“When [the porch pirate] was driving, I saw the car there. He had the door open, it was on, there was no one else in there, he jumped in and ran,” Erica Bernhard said.
Expert tips on how to avoid scams
Experts say thieves are targeting victims through cyber scams, identity theft and hacking corporate accounts containing customers’ personal information.
“It’s like a war on our economy, fought by criminals all over the world, with foot soldiers here on the ground stealing packages,” said Adam Schwam, CEO of Sandwire, an IT support company. “If a website is hacked, information can be exfiltrated, usually usernames and passwords.”
Nassau County detectives are recommending that the Bernhards and everyone else check their accounts more often, check their emails more often and use different passwords.
The average value of stolen packages costs consumers $219.
Jennifer McLogan
